Car Brands With The Most Satisfied Shoppers
Jim Gorzelany
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Jim Gorzelany
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Click for full photo gallery: The Cars Drivers Love Best
While it would be reasonable to assume that the the models most beloved by their owners are also the?best-selling vehicles, based on the sheer numbers of buyers, that?s not necessarily the case. Those choosing segment stalwarts like the Toyota Camry midsize sedan and the Ford Escape crossover SUV no doubt like and even adore their cars, but rides like these are typically purchased based more on practical matters than those of the heart, none the least of which is an affordable purchase price.
Buyers who tend to be truly head-over-heels enamored with their cars, on the other hand, can afford to succumb to the allure of costlier models that are typically more emotional purchases. To that end, luxury nameplates again dominate the list of most-appealing car brands in the just-released 2012 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study conducted by J.D. Power and Associates in Westlake Village, Calif.
And yet, one telling result from the 2012 APEAL Study is that motorists are becoming increasingly captivated with the new wave of smaller vehicles that afford a combination of solid performance, thrifty fuel economy and reasonably upscale accommodations. The study determined that 27 percent of new-vehicle buyers who replaced a vehicle downsized their rides by choosing a model in a smaller size segment. Only 13 percent of buyers bought larger vehicles, while 60 percent stayed the course by purchasing a new model in the same size segment.
?Although larger models continue to attain higher APEAL Study scores than smaller models, as they typically provide higher performance, have more pleasing styling, are more comfortable and include more features, owners who downsize find that today?s compact models are not the ?econoboxes? that they may have once feared,? says David Sargent, vice president of global automotive at J.D. Power and Associates.? ?Automakers are heavily focused on providing the U.S. market with appealing smaller models, and buyers may be surprised at just how good some of them are.?
Overall, the study determined that buyers in all vehicle categories love their cars more deeply than ever, with APEAL scores again at their highest levels since the study was first conducted in 1996 to measure so-called ?things gone right? (versus other new-car buyer surveys that tended to dwell on a vehicle?s initial or long-term problems).
In Pictures: The Cars Drivers Love Best.
The accompanying slideshow details the top-ranked models in each of 21 separate vehicle segments, including small, midsize, large and premium-grade cars as well as crossovers, SUVs, minivans and pickup trucks. J.D. Power?s APEAL ratings for individual models are given on a five-point ?Powercircle? system that grades a vehicle?s performance, comfort, features/instrument panel and styling, with five being the highest score. Complete rankings for 2012 makes and models can be found here.
Porsche boasts the most slaphappy adoration among buyers for the eighth consecutive year, with the brand?s 911 sports car and Cayenne midsize premium crossover SUV being singled out for top scores in their respective segments. The next 10 top-rated brands are all luxury nameplates, including (in order of ranking) Jaguar, BMW, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Land Rover, Cadillac, Infiniti, Acura and Lincoln.
The domestic automakers continue to gain ground in terms of offering more-appealing wares than ever. Chevrolet received the most individual per-segment awards in the 2012 APEAL Study for its Avalanche full-size pickup truck, Sonic subcompact and the electric Volt compact car, while Dodge, Jaguar and Ram garnered the greatest year-over-year improvements in APEAL scores; Dodge placed two models as best-in-class, the Challenger sports coupe and Charger full-size sedan.
Other noteworthy models receiving 2012 APEAL awards include the Audi A6 and A8, BMW 3 Series, Ford Expedition and Flex, Infiniti QX56, Kia Optima and Soul, MINI Countryman and Coupe/Roadster, Mercedes-Benz SLK, Nissan Frontier and Quest, Range Rover Evoque and Volkswagen Passat. The Audi A8 luxury sedan boasted the highest APEAL ranking among all vehicles.
In cross-comparing results, we found five vehicles that received class-leading scores in both J.D. Power?s APEAL survey and its 2012 Initial Quality Study. These include the Ford Expedition SUV, Kia Soul multipurpose vehicle, Nissan Frontier pickup, Nissan Quest minivan and the Porsche 911 sports car.
In Pictures: The Cars Drivers Love Best.
Article source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2012/07/25/cars-drivers-love-best/
Source: http://www.snaggstuff.net/blog/?p=13609
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